Notes:This was
the most competitive top three we’ve ever had in the music poll, almost resulting
in our first tie in seventeen years. (The tie was broken with the last ballot
in.)It’s also the first time that a
cast album has appeared in the top three.(In a weaker year for Adele or Sufjan Stevens, Hamilton would have walked
away with it.)Both Adele and Stevens
are previous winners, as is Ryan Adams, who slips into the tenth spot with his
cover album of last year’s number 1. (Is he readying his version of 25 as we speak?)Other past winners didn’t fare as well – The
Decemberists eked out four votes, Coldplay not a single one (although, in
fairness, their album came out in December).And if you’d told me a couple years ago that Carly Rae Jepsen would have
one of the most acclaimed albums of the year, I would have been somewhat
surprised (great as “Call Me Maybe” was).CHVRCHES also managed to get only one vote short of their debut album
for their second effort, which is no small feat.And Beach House is, I believe, the first band
to have two albums hit the poll in the same year.This year there were 89 voters in the poll,
up from 86 last year.

Now, the individual Lists:

Sufjan is my
beloved (aka my list)

Let me just state for the record that this year I had no
trouble whatsoever filling a list of essentials – it was a really good music
year, with a great mix of old favorites and new faces.And my winner was such a winner, hands down.

1)Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie & Lowell

So beautiful and so depressing, so depressing and so
beautiful at the same time, and as a result it will stand, I think, as one of
my favorite albums of all time.I have
listened to it over a hundred times, I’m sure, and I’m still figuring it
out.

2)CHVRCHES, Every
Open Eye

Beating the sophomore slump by amplifying what was great
about the first album, and feeling more comfortable in your own creative
skin.

3)Years &
Years, Communion

Beyond the fact that every interview I read with Olly
Alexander makes me love him more, this had the best single of the year (“King”)
on it, as well as other practically perfect pop songs.Do all of the album tracks live up to the
singles?Nope.Does that matter?Not really.Here’s hoping they take a page from CHVRCHES with album two, and perfect
what they do rather than trying to do something different.

4)Ryn Weaver, The
Fool

A genuine surprise for me, and one that stuck on my
headphones far longer than most other albums this year – I’ve probably listened
to “Pierre” a hundred times, because it always makes me happy with its
escapade.A fantastic intersection of
singer-songwriter and pop.

5)Brandi Carlile,
The Firewatcher’s Daughter

One of the best live shows I saw all year was Brandi
Carlile at Newport.But even on album,
these songs have a fire to them that makes this, I think, her best album to
date.If she isn’t my generation’s Bonnie
Raitt, I don’t know who is.

Runners Up:

Courtney Barnett’s Sometimes I Sit Around and Think…;
Carly Rae Jepsen’s Emotion (no one-hit wonder, she – this one’s just a wonder);
James Bay, The Chaos and the Calm

Favorite songs:

Years & Years, “King”

Ryn Weaver, “Pierre”

JD McPherson, “Let the Good Times Roll”

Matt Nathanson, “Bill Murray”

The Decemberists, “Make You Better” (an incredible song
on an unexceptional album)

Courtney Barnett, “Nobody Cares If You Don’t Go to the
Party”

CHVRCHES, “Leave a Trace” and “Clearest Blue”

Justin Bieber, “What Do You Mean?” (daft lyrics, amazing
arrangement)

The Bear’s Den, “Above the Clouds of Pompeii”

Chris K Has This
Cross to Bear

As always, I'll be
tickled if anyone else picks of my choices.

Album of the Year:
Tau Cross, s/t

2. Satan's Wrath, Die
Evil

3. The Hell, Brutopia

4. Clutch, Psychic
Warfare

5. High On Fire, Luminiferous

6. Exgenesis, Aphotic
Veil

7. Black Fast, Terms
of Surrender

8. Bonehunter, Evil
Triumphs Again

9. Vampire, Cimmerian
Shade EP

10. Enforcer, From
Beyond

11. Frosthelm, The
Endless Winter

12. Sigh, Graveward

13. Ensiferum, One
Man Army

Best Non-Metal
Release of 2015: Fidlar, Too

Guilty Pleasure Pop
Song of the Year: Elle King, "Ex's and Ohs"

How Big, Andrew H. How Beautiful!

Most Essential Album
(tie):

Hamilton Original
Cast Recording

Florence and the Machine;
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Other Essential
Albums:

Sleater-Kinney, No
Cities to Love

Troye Sivan, Blue
Neighbourhood

Scott D, In Living Colour

1. Sufjan
Stevens, Carrie & Lowell

2. Jamie xx,
In Colour

Hello, Anna Q

Adele 25.
Nothing else comes close.

Actually there's an
album called Traveller by Chris Stapleton I really like but I wasn't sure how
country would fare on your list, and one called Beautiful Monster by Sky-pony
that I thought might be too obscure.

Hello, Fiona S

David Bowie,
Blackstar(ed. note: This is a 2016 album)

Adele, 25

Lin-Manuel Miranda
et al, Hamilton the Musical

Blake N Goes Hollywood

All I do with albums
anymore is very quickly sort through them to glean the best couple songs.

My favorites:

1) U2
"Songs of Innocence", yes the one you were trying to remove from your
iPhone. It's good! (if you like U2) (ed. note: This is a 2014 album)

2) Lana Del
Rey "Hollywood"

3) Courtney
Barnett "Sometimes I Sit…"

It's all about the
singles these days. My favorites:

1) Cloud
Nothings "Hey Cool Kid"

2) Cage the Elephant
"Cigarette Dreams"

3) Major Lazer
"Lean On"

4) Coldplay "Magic"

5) DNCE "Cake
By the Ocean"

6) U2 "Iris"

7) Lana Del
Rey "High by the Beach"

8) Courtney
Barnett "Nobody Really Cares if you go to the party"

9) Jeremih ft.
flo rida "Tonight Belongs to You"

10) Mark
Farina "Dream Machine"

My best retro-find
discovery of 2015, was the band Hospitality. Their first album
"Hospitality" from 2012 was probably my favorite album of 2015.

The National also
finally caught up to me this year. They are hard to get into! But
so worth it.

Jackie D Hears the
Lord

Albums of 2015:

1. Lord Huron,
Strange Trails (SOOOOO good)

2. Sunflower Bean,
Show Me Your Seven Secrets

"The album
didn't quite do it for me but I couldn't stop listening to the song" of
2015:

1. The Bright Light
Social Hour, Sweet Madelene

As usual, most of
the new stuff I added to my collection was not from 2015. Here are some lists
that are not exactly in order.

Top albums I
discovered in 2015:

1. The Black Keys,
El Camino (Ironically I listened to this album the year it came out and it did
nothing for me, this year it was an 100% perfect soundtrack to the novel I was
writing)

My biggest letdown
was To Pimp a Butterfly by Kendrick Lamar. It topped most year-end
lists but I could hardly make it through the overlong track listing once. His
first album is still one of the best rap albums of a generation, but all I can
think of regarding TPAB is that he needed someone to bring him
back down to Earth. The album is overflowing with conflicting ideas and sounds,
barely anything makes it above the noise. Kanye can do over-the-top and make it
work—Kendrick still seems to be figuring that out.

My best
(re)discovery was Hole. Courtney Love has become such a pop-culture punchline
in recent years (and who can really blame her after living out a tragedy on the
world stage?), but Live Through This has to be one of the best
albums of the 90s, hands down. I’m not a big Nirvana guy, but I could listen to
the first few Hole albums endlessly, and I’m sad to think of the Courtney we
missed out on thanks to drugs and the paparazzi.

My favorite single
of 2015, aside from Grimes’s first two tracks off of Art Angels, is “To
Ü” by Jack Ü (the unholy producing duo of Diplo and Skrillex) featuring
AlunaGeorge. I’m no EDM expert and Diplo acts like the worst man baby in the
world, but it’s a gorgeous love song and the video features a really diverse
range of couples.

I made it through
the entire year without hearing “Hello” by Adele, “Hotline Bling” by Drake, or
anything off of Carly Rae Jepsen’s E•MO•TION. I wasn’t trying—I
just don’t listen to the radio.

Alex L + Alexander H

Looking at all these
albums I have written, I realize what a terribly typical white boy I am...

Most Listened to and
Loved (forgive me, David):

Original Broadway
Cast, Hamilton

Also loved:

Florence and The
Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful,'

Chvrches, Every
Open Eye

Lana Del Rey,
Honeymoon

Sleater Kinney, No
Cities To Love

Album By a YouTuber
I Unexpectedly Liked A Lot:

Troye Sivan, Blue
Neighbourhood

Album That Made Me
Contemplate Mortality:

Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

Roberto R’s True Grimes

Grimes, Art Angels
– DUHHHHHHHH

Rotem M Feels the Burr

Does Hamilton
Original Broadway Cast Soundtrack count? :)

Aimee F’s Got Recycled Bad Blood

In the spirit of TWO
SUMMERS, I’m gonna go with just my top TWO picks for all :).

The albums I
listened to the most on a loop and provided lots of inspiration:

Ryan Adams, 1989

Various Artists, Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording

And my top two
singles:

Adele, Hello

Fetty Wap, Trap Queens

And top two older
singles I discovered this year:

James Vincent McMorrow, Higher Love

Franz Ferdinand, Fresh Strawberries

Terra M, Rebel
Rebel

Easy for me this
time:

Madonna, Rebel Heart

Chvrches, Every
Open Eye

Dan P’s Deep Dive

Here are my
essential picks:

1) Joanna Newsom,
Divers

2) Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

3) Patty Griffin,
Servant of Love

4) Belle and
Sebastian, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance

5) Florence and the
Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Favorite New Singles
on Repeat:

1) Years &
Years, Eyes Shut

2) Madonna, Ghosttown

Favorite Discoveries
from the Recent Past:

First Aid Kit, Stay
Gold

Woodkid, The Golden
Age

Raina T’s Vitals
Statistics

Tough tough tough,
David!! Almost all my essential albums were from previous years. Alas:

2015 most
essential album of the year

Mutemath, Vitals

2015 other
essential albums

The Royal
Concept, Smile

Glen
Hansard, Didn't He Ramble

Half Moon
Run, Sun Leads Me On

2015 best singles

Mutemath, 'Joy
Rides'

Glen
Hansard, 'Grace Beneath the Pines'

The Royal
Concept, 'Higher Than Love'

Great Good Fine
OK, 'Take It Or Leave It'

Half Moon
Run, 'Trust'

Windowspeak, 'Narrows'

big discoveries
from previous years

Bleachers, Strange
Desire, 2014

Young the Giant,
Mind Over Matter, 2014

Midnight Faces, The
Fire is Gone, 2014

Civil Twilight, Holy
Weather, 2012

Two Door Cinema
Club, Beacon, 2012

Paper Route, The
Peace of Wild Things, 2012

Paper Route,
Absence, 2009

For Bryant P, There’s No Holding Back the Years

Most Essential
Albums:

1. Years &
Years, Communion

2. EL VY, Return to
the Moon

3. Troye Sivan, Blue
Neighbourhood

4. Lana del Rey,
Honeymoon

5. Grimes, Art
Angels

Melissa W’s Happy Burr-Day

Music discovery has
not been my strength this year, but I will say that my entire household is
obsessed with this one:

Various Artists, Hamilton Original
Broadway Cast Recording

June, 4, is quite
taken with Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr, and keeps asking to see pictures of
both the man and the actor. She's been known to be caught in her room saying to
her Beanie Boos, "Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, sir?"

Hello, Paige H

#1 Album*: Adele, 25

Runners Up: Mumford
& Sons, Wilder Mind

Cam, Untamed

*but, the Hamilton
Soundtrack is easily my most-played album of the year (do Broadway cast albums
count??)

Favorite singles:

James Bay, Hold Back
the River

Missy Elliott ft.
Pharrell Williams, WTF (Where They From)

Halsey, New
Americana

David Guetta ft.
Sia, Bang my Head

Rachel Platten,
Fight Song

Megan B Shakes it Out

Thanks! I always
enjoy participating and seeing what other people post. It's so hard every year,
but I think I've got a solid top ten albums.

1. Alabama Shakes,
Sound & Color

2. Leon Bridges,
Coming Home

3. Courtney Barrett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

4. Halsey, Badlands

5. Mumford and Sons,
Wilder Mind

6. Lana del Rey,
Honeymoon

7. Joanna Newsome,
Divers

8. Father John
Misty, I Love You Honeybear

9. Bjork, Vulnicara

10. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie & Lowell

10. Frank Turner,
Positive Songs for Negative People

Okay, yeah, that's
11. Oh well.

Samantha M Awakens the Force of Wilco

1. Wilco, Star Wars

2. Israel Nash,
Israel Nash's Silver Season

3. Courtney
Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

Crissa’s Even with Stevens

Here are my
favorites of 2015:

--best album:

Sufjan Stevens, Carrie
& Lowell

--essential albums:

Father John Misty, I
Love You, Honeybear

Kurt Vile, b’lieve
I’m goin down

Tame Impala,
Currents

Jamie xx, In Colour

Purity Ring, Another
Eternity

CHVRCHES, Every Open
Eye

Beach House,
Depression Cherry

--favorite track:
Tame Impala, Let It Happen

Steven M Flies
High

Here's my list:

1. Noel Gallagher's
High Flying Birds, Chasing Yesterday

2. Paul Weller,
Saturns Pattern

3. Jason Isbell,
Something More Than Free

4. Courtney Barnett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I just Sit

Justin Bieber,
Purpose (I find myself shocked to be including this but it's got some great
tracks)

Alabama Shakes,
Sound & Color

Marie A’s
Honeymoon Period

I'm going to skew
this poll terribly, because my specialty is listening to albums only 8 other
people have heard. ;-)

Lana Del Rey,
Honeymoon

Also obsessed with
the Max Richter soundtrack to the HBO series The Leftovers. Holy crap, is that
an awesome piece of artistry. Modern classical. An absolute revelation. I'm
writing a dystopian I hope will touch on themes similar to The Handmaid's Tale
(but, you know, totally unworthy of claiming to), and this album takes me there
Every. Damn. Time.

Sometimes Lena R
Sits and Listens to Courtney Barnett

Courtney Barnett -
Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit

Disclosure - Caracal

Death Cab for Cutie
- Kintsugi

Chris Cornell -
Higher Truth

Kurt Vile - b'lieve
i'm goin down

Kendrick Lamar - To
Pimp a Butterfly

Adele - 25

Bowie- Black Star - wait
- does that count??? (ed. note: Next year)

Michael B Parties
Like It’s 1989

Greatest Records of
2015

1. 1989 - Ryan Adams

2. Sheezus - Lily
Allen

3. Zella Day -
Kicker

4. Chris Stapleton -
Traveller

5. Hamilton

6. Royal Blood -
Royal Blood

7. Leon Bridges -
Coming Home

8. Carly Rae Jepsen
- e.mo.tion

9. The Weekend -
Beauty Behind the Madness

10. Adele - 25

Courtney S’s
Founding Father Fabulousness

My album of the year
is (predictably) Hamilton!

Also love the Adele
single, Hello. Haven't listened to the rest of the

album yet because
I've been so busy with Hamilton.

Tim F Loves Hamilton Like You Do

1) Lin-Manuel
Miranda, HAMILTON

2) Various artists,
50 SHADES OF GREY soundtrack

Most-listened-to not
released in 2015:

Thomas Newman,
AMERICAN BEAUTY soundtrack

David A Knows What
He Loves

MOST ESSENTIAL ALBUM
OF THE YEAR

Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

TEN HONORABLE
MENTIONS

1. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

2. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

3. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

4. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

5. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

6. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

7. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

8. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

9. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

10. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

I Love Your List,
Billy M, But You Caint Use My Phone

Top of my list:
Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell

(Late contender:
Erykah Badu, But You Caint Use My Phone)

Top tier favorites:

Brandi Carlile, The
Firewatcher's Daughter

Courtney Barnett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

Elle King, Love
Stuff

Adele, 25

Pop:

Years & Years,
Communion

Marina and The
Diamonds, FROOT

Carly Rae Jepsen,
E•MO•TION

Tiffany S’s Capitol List

Albums

1) Hamilton Original
Cast Recording

2) Misterwives - Our
Own House

3) Of Monsters and
Men, Beneath the Skin

4) Ryan Adams, 1989

5) Halsey, Badlands

6) Mumford and Sons,
Wilder Minds

7) Adele, 25

Elizabeth E Takes
Me to Chvrch

MOST ESSENTIAL

CHVRCHES, Every Open
Eye - it was a close race with Adele, but this album brought me the most joy

Best use of music
in film: Mommy, dir. Xavier Dolan (technically a 2014 movie, but with a 2015 US
release date)

Andrea R’s Wild Heart

Miguel, Wildheart

Adele, 25

Kendrick Lamar, To
Pimp a Butterfly

FKA Twigs, M3LL155X

Grimes, Art Angels

The Weeknd, Beauty
Behind the Madness

Hello, Jill S

Adele, 25

The Weekend, Beauty
Behind the Madness

Florence and the
Machine, How Big How Blue How Beautiful

Lauren S Hits the Dopamine Hard

Here's my list for
2015:

1. Third Eye Blind,
Dopamine

2. Vance Joy, Dream
Your Life Away

3. Adele, 25

4. Ryan Adams, 1989

5. Lord Huron,
Strange Trails

6. Mumford &
Sons, Wilder Mind

7. Of Monsters and
Men, Beneath the Skin

8. Joy Williams,
VENUS

Favorite Singles:

1. X Ambassadors,
Renegades

2. Banners, Shine a
Light

3. Cloves, Don't You
Wait

4. Vance Joy, Snaggletooth

Nick E Searches High and Finds Lowell

This is the first
time in years I’ve had a list of albums I didn’t just like but absolutely
loved. It’s difficult to rank them, but I’ll try!

1. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie & Lowell

This one edges the
others out because it feels the most like a cohesive album to me. The whole
thing’s great, and I sometimes forget which song is which, but only because
they all work so well as a part of the whole. It’s also the most emotionally
affecting album I’ve experienced in a while.

2. Chvrches, Every
Open Eye

Tons of fun,
reminiscent of my favorite 80s music but still fresh, and just when you think
you’ve got a handle on the band’s formula, they’ll throw in a track that
changes everything up. Also the lyrics are nebulous in a way that I find pretty
engaging – I could make a pretty good case that “Playing Dead” is not a love
song but is actually about when you’re at a crowded concert and the person in
front of you keeps stepping back into your personal space. (This is why I hate
ponytails.)

3. Years and Years,
Communion

In a less stellar
year, this could easily have been my #1. Lots of fun. Diminished somewhat,
perhaps, by the fact that so much of the album was released in advance; the
album was pretty familiar to me by the time it finally dropped. Of all the
groups listed here, I’m most excited to see what these guys do next.

4. Beach House,
Thank Your Lucky Stars

I do, Beach House. I
do.

5. Beach House,
Depression Cherry

Two Beach House
albums in a single year was a great treat. Most of the other albums on my list
are here in part for their lyrics, but I enjoy Beach House entirely for the
sounds, which tend to fade into the background in a way I enjoy. I don’t know
what any of these songs are about after dozens of listens, and I really only
have a vague sense of liking “Lucky Stars” a little more than “Cherry.” I just
like having these albums on whether I’m actively listening or not.

Scott T’s Full Disclosure

Essential Album of
2015

Disclosure - Caracal

I was on a Drum
& Bass kick for much of 2015. Two essential D&B albums I came
across (that I doubt anyone in this poll will have interest in)

Nelver - Black &
White (2014)

Breakshift - All the
Dreams You Never Had (2011)

Some Top Songs of
2015

Artist - Song

Ratatat - Cream on
Cone

East India Youth -
Turn Away

Amason - Duvan

Icky Blossoms - In
Folds

Lower Dens -
To Die in L.A.

RAC - Back of the
Car

FFS - Call Girl

Disclosure -
Nocturnal

Best Coast -
California Nights

Freezepop - Phantoms

Silence Groove -
Reflection

Napoleon - Moogie
Wonderland

Where it Happens for Caleb H

Top Five Albums:

1. Lin-Manuel
Miranda, Hamilton

Best Song: The Room
Where it Happens

2. Tobyfox,
Undertale OST

Best Song:
Megalovania

3. Twenty One
Pilots, Blurryface

Best Song: Ride

4. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell

Best Song: The Only
Thing

5. Courtney Barnett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit

Best Song: Elevator
Operator

Best Discovery of
Old Album: Django Django, Django Django

Not-A-Real-Album
Honorable Mention: Every Song in Steven Universe

Saved-My-Life
Single: Janelle Monae, Dance Apocalyptic

Favorite Music
Video At This Second: Miike Snow, Genghis Khan

Jon S thinks Grimes is an Angel!

I didn’t have much
trouble picking my favorites this year because there weren’t a whole lot of
them. But I wouldn’t say it was a disappointing year for music, because the
ones I loved, I REALLY loved. Especially my top two, Art Angels by
Grimes and Sore by Dilly Dally.

1. Grimes, Art
Angels

2. Dilly Dally, Sore

3. Courtney Barnett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit

4. Dan Friel, Life

5. CHVRCHES, Every
Open Eye

6. Jamie XX, In
Colour

7. Saintseneca, Such
Things

8. Waxahatchee, Ivy
Tripp

9.
Pinkshinyultrablast, Everything Else Matters

10. Diet Cig, Over
Easy

Will W Hits the Beach

Albums

1. Beach House, Thank
Your Lucky Stars and Depression Cherry

2. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie
and Lowell

3. Courtney Barnett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit

4. Grimes, Art
Angels

Songs

Girlpool,
"Before the World Was Big"

Beach House,
"Sparks"

Joanna Newsom,
"Anecdotes"

Grimes, "Belly
of the Beat"

Sufjan Stevens,
"The Only Thing"

Courtney Barnett,
"Depreston"

Beach House,
"All Your Yeahs"

Carly Rae Jepsen,
"Your Type"

CHVRCHES,
"Leave a Trace"

Tobias Jesso Jr.,
"Hollywood"

John A Cries Foal

1. Foals, What Went
Down

2. Tame Impala,
Currents

3. Viet Cong, Viet
Cong

4. Metz, II

5. Father John
Misty, I Love You, Honey Bear

6. Deerhunter:
Fading Frontier

7. The Decemberists,
What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World

8. Torche, Restarter

9. Chvrches, Every
Open Eye

10. Wavves &
Cloud Nothings, No Life for Me

Brian M Cries Uncle

Well, it was another
year of great music. Here's my 2¢

1. Uncle Acid, The
Night Creeper

2, Blur, The Magic
Whip

3. Ryley Walker,
Primrose Green

4. Blood Warrior,
Letter Ghost

5. The Decemberists,
What A Terrible World...

6. Jose Gonzalez,
Vestiges & Claws

7. The Brian
Jonestown Masscre, Mini Album Thingy Wingy (aka Pish)

8. Jordaan Mason,
Decline of Stupid Fucking Western Civilization

9. Kurt Cobain,
Montage of Heck

10. Marilyn Manon,
The Pale Emperor

11. Big Blood,
Double Days I & II

12. Belle and
Sebastian, Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance

13. Death and
Valnilla, To Where the Wild Things Are

14. Bjork, Vulnicura

Normally, I'm not a
fan of Live albums, but this year there were many great ones. So here's my
favorites, as a bonus:

The White Stripes,
Under Amazonian Lights

Ryan Adams, Live at
Carnegie Hall

Edward Sharpe &
The Magnetic Zeros, Live in No Particular Order

The Legendary Pink
Dots, Come Out From the Shadows 4

Placebo, MTV
Unplugged

The Rolling Stones,
The Marquee Club Live in 1972

Dr. Dog, Live at a
Flamingo Hotel

Belle and
Sebastian, Live 2015

Sarah Maria V Whips it Good

1. Blur, The Magic
Whip

2. Placebo, MTV
Unplugged

3. Bjork, Vulnicura

Brant R Shows Some Style

My Essential Albums of 2015:

Car Seat Headrest/Teens of Style

Destroyer/Poison Season

Mac DeMarco/Another One

Beach House/Depression Cherry

Beach House/Thank Your Lucky Stars

Elvis Depressedly/New Alhambra

Alabama Shakes/Sound & Color

Jamie xx/In Colour

Mac McCaughan/Non-Believers

Kendrick Lamar/To Pimp a Butterfly

Tame Impala/Currents

Shamir/Ratchet

Sufjan Stevens/Carrie & Lowell

Sheer Mag/II 7" [EP]

Some of My Essential Tracks of 2015:

Yes I'm Changing/Tame Impala

What Do You Mean?/Justin Bieber

Run Away with Me/Carly Rae Jepsen

Natalie Wood/TV Girl

On the Regular/Shamir

REALiTi/Grimes

Pass the Vibes/Donnie Trumpet

Fan the Flames/Sheer Mag

Something Soon/Car Seat Headrest

Only Do/Mac McCaughan

All Your Yeahs/Beach House

Can We Still Be Friends/Tobias Jesso Jr.

Don't Wanna Fight/Alabama Shakes

Young/Frankie Cosmos

Wastes of Time/Elvis Depressedly

Hard 2 Wait/iji

Times Square/Destroyer

Debbie Downer/Courtney Barnett

Ong Ong/Blur

While the Song Remains the Same/Noel Gallagher

Play for Today/Belle and Sebastian

Without Me/Mac DeMarco

Albums It Took Me Until 2015 to Find Essential:

James Carr/You Got My Mind Messed Up [1967]

Neko Case/Fox Confessor Brings the Flood [2006]

Christopher Cross/Christopher Cross [1979]

Donovan/What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid [1965]

Ducktails/The Flower Lane [2013]

Daryl Hall and John Oates/Abandoned Luncheonette [1973]

Hefner/Dead Media [2001]

Hollywood Brats/Hollywood Brats [1973]

Carole King/Music [1971]

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart/Belong [2011]

The Rubinoos/The Rubinoos [1977]

Paul Siebel/Woodsmoke And Oranges [1970]

Starbuck/Moonlight Feels Right [1976]

Supertramp/Breakfast in America [1979]

Maggie S Lists All the Kings

As ever, my list is
singles, not albums. And it's songs I found this year, not necessarily songs
released this year.

1. Nieves -
"Winter"

2. Raury -
"God's Whisper"

3. The Chemical
Brothers feat Miguel & Lorde - "This is Not a Game"

4. Manicanparty -
"You Are My Soul"

5. Inner Oceans -
"I Don't Mind"

6. Christine and the
Queens - "No Harm is Done"

7. Cold War Kids -
"First"

8. SAFIA -
"Counting Sheep"

9. Ra Ra Riot &
Rostam - "Water"

10. Editors -
"All the Kings"

11. AWOLNATION -
"Jailbreak"*

12. Brighton -
"Forest Fire"

*This song struck me
so hard as I was driving to Kansas that I actually had to pull over by the side
of the road because I was not able to listen to it and drive at the same time.

Christopher P Will Always Be the King of Hayne

1. Emile Hayne, We
Fall

2. Chvrches, Every
Open Eye

3. Ben Folds, So
There

4. Marina and the
Diamonds, Froot

5. Little Boots,
Working Girl

6. Monarchy, Abnocto

7. Rebecca Ferguson,
Lady Sings The Blues

8. Hawksley Workman,
Old Cheetah

9. Lana Del Rey,
Honeymoon

10. Patty Griffin,
Servant Of Love

Joe M’s Visions of Joanna

Queens reigned
supreme this year. The year saw the heaviest rotation and most moments of
musical enlightenment from these two albums.

Joanna Newsom,
Divers

Courtney Barnett,
Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit

Top tracks:

Courtney Barnett,
Pedestrian at Best

Shamir, On the
Regular

Chance the Rapper,
Sunday Candy

Kurt Vile, Pretty
Pimpin'

Kendrick Lamar, King
Kunta

Best music video:

Chance the Rapper,
Sunday Candy

Hello, Corey W

1. Adele, 25

2. Sufjan Stevens,
Carrie and Lowell ( I know, but I’m going for sing-along-ability this year and
Adele nailed that.)

3. Of Monsters and
Men, Beneath the Skin

4. The Weeknd,
Beauty Behind the Madness

Coe B’s Treasury Department

Here is my top album
of 2015:

1. Hamilton
(Broadway Cast Album)

Runners up (in no
particular order)

* Halsey
(Badlands)

I love writing to
her music!

* Kendrick Lamar (To
Pimp a Butterfly)

Lyrics, lyrics,
lyrics!

* Grimes (Art Angel)

Another nice artist
to write to.

* Grace Acladna
(Songs of the Subconscious)

She’s a new artist
with just a 4-song EP right now. Glad I “discovered” her in 2015.

* Alessia Cara
(Know-It-All)

Cute, fun, pop
music.

* Lianne La Havas
(Blood)

I love her voice and
her jazzy vibe!

* The Weekend
(Beauty Behind the Madness)

My niece got me into
him, but now I have to admit, he’s my guilty pleasure… and my ringtone!

Suf’s Up for Joseph H

Here's my list for
2015:

Sufjan Stevens:
Carrie & Lowell

Joanna Newsom:
Divers

Jamie XX: In Colour

Grimes: Art Angels

Disclosure: Caracal

Beach House:
Depression Cherry

Father John Misty:
'I Love You, Honeybear'

Kevin K Finds Some Cities to Love

The year started off
very strong but tailed off about mid-year. I found that lots of albums had some
great singles, but not too many great albums.

Top Ten Best Albums

1. No
Cities to Love – Sleater-Kinney

2.
Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit – Courtney Barnett

3.
Ratchet - Shamir

4.
Poison Season – Destroyer

5. Back
On Top - The Front Bottoms

6.
Glitterbug – The Wombats

7.
Another Eternity – Purity Ring

8.
Music Complete – New Order

9.
Sound & Color – Alabama Shakes

10. All Your
Favorite Bands – Dawes

Best Songs of the
Year

*
A New Wave - Sleater–Kinney

*
On The Regular - Ratchet

*
Dream Lover – Destroyer

*
Don’t Wanna Fight – Alabama Shakes

*
All Your Favorite Bands – Dawes

*
Flood on the Floor – Purity Ring

*
I Remember – Bully

*
Look At Your Life – Death

*
Huarache Lights – Hot Chip

*
Should Have Know Better – Sufjan Stevens

*
King Kunta – Kendrick Lamar

*
Make You Better – The Decembrists

*
Lifted Up (1985) - Passion Pit

*
Dreams – Beck

*
The Legend of Che Guerrero – The Mountain Goats

*
Aqua Profunda! - Courtney Barnett

*
America – First Aid Kit

*
Getting Ready to Get Down – Josh Ritter

*
Shock n Awe – The Go Rounds

*
This Is Not a Party – The Wombats

*
Random Name Generator – Wilco

*
Monday (Overtime I Turn Around) - The Bottle Rockets

*
Pretty Pimpin – Kurt Vile

*
Knee Me On The Fire Escape – Rhett Miller

*
Cough It Out - The Front Bottoms

*
Biscuits – Kacey Musgraves

*
S.O.B. - Nathaniel Ratliff & The Night Sweats

*
Bad Blood – Ryan Adams

*
Number One – Tuxedo

·Singularity
– New Order

Andy P Takes Communion

Years & Years,
Communion

Florence and the
Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Adele, 25

Not sure how
helpful that is. I doubt there’s a place for podcasts or NPR’s Marketplace on
the list… :)

Dean B Carries On

I've got a top 6
this year and a link to my Best of 2015 Spotify mix. Hope that gets me in
the door!

Special mention for
D'Angelo, who is inclusion this year slightly confused by the release of his
album at the very end of '14. It was certainly one of the best albums of
last year.

Phil B Votes for Hamilton

#1 Album of the
Year: Hamilton Soundtrack -- a transcendental hip hop album.

#2 Album of the
Year: Kendrick Lamar -- To Pimp a Butterfly

Hello, Cassandra P

Adele, 25

Miguel, Wildheart

Puff Daddy & the
Family, MMM

Erykah Badu, But You
Cain't Use My Phone

Drake & Future,
What Time to Be Alive

Drake, If You're
Reading This It's Too Late

Amy Winehouse &
Antonio Pinto, Amy: The Original Soundtrack

Zach F’s 10-Dollar Choice

Most Essential Album
2015:

Hamilton Original
Broadway Cast Recording

Runners up:

Bjork, Vulnicura

The Arcs, Yours
Dreamily

Speedy Ortiz, Foil
Deer

Punch Brothers, The
Phosphorescent Blues

Singles:

Heartless Bastards,
Gates of Dawn

Speedy Ortiz,
Raising the Skate

Tame Impala, Let it
Happen

Courtney Barnett,
Pedestrian at Best

Django Django, First
Light

Jose Gonzalez, Leaf
Off / The Cave

Hello, Eamon T

Adele, 25

Ryan Adams, 1989

New Order, Music
Complete

Beach House, Depression
Cherry/Thank Your Lucky Stars

David Bowie,
Blackstar

Sleater-Kinney, No
Cities To Love

Blur, The Magic Whip

Disclosure, Caracal

Lana del Rey,
Honeymoon

Florence and the
Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

Carly Rae Jepsen,
E•MO•TION

Kari L’s Great Shakes

Honestly I listened
to a lot of old soul, but in between that there was also:

Alabama Shakes,
Sound and Color

Sleater-Kinney, No
Cities To Love

The Decemberists,
What a Terrible World What a Beautiful World

Beirut, No, No, No

Holly Golightly,
Slowtown Now!

Beach House,
Depression Cherry

Leon Bridges, Coming
Home

Soundtrack: The
Diary of A Teenage Girl

Songs:

Hate Street Dialogue
w/Rodriguez, The Wanderings of Avenir

Spectre, Radiohead

Drew L’s Favorite Tragedy

Just going with my
top record this year:

Titus Andronicus,
The Most Lamentable Tragedy

Teri Y Shows His Emotion

Lot's of fun singles
in 2015, but only two whole albums really stuck with me all year.

Carly Rae Jepsen,
Emotion

Marina and the
Diamonds, Froot

Eugene K’s Up Late Nights Thinking of This List

Jeremih, Late
Nights: The Album

If Prince and Drake
had a kid, I feel like his name would be Jeremih. Fetty could be a distant
cousin.

Drake, If you’re
reading this it’s too late

Was it possible to
escape Drake in 2015? There is no escape velocity (not that I’m even looking
to).

Marian Hill, Sway

From the cello(?)
notes and the simple swing HIll lends to the proceedings I was hooked.

Fetty Wap, Fetty Wap

Who knew that the
twisting vocal lines Fetty Wap wraps around the sparse productions could
support an entire album (and would wrap themselves so tightly around my
eardrums)? I want to make an allusion to Joni Mitchell, but Fetty’s melodic
lines aren’t really as far out there.

Justin Bieber,
Purpose

If everything on
this album were as good as the first three singles, it’d top this list; as it
is, I don’t actually know what’s on this other than those singles but that's
enough for a mention.

Original Broadway
Cast, Hamilton

Suddenly Hamilton
was everywhere. Early in the year I tried (and failed) and tried (and failed)
to get tickets to this at the Public. Then I did the same after the transition
to Broadway. As luck would have it, a friend had extra tickets and I didn’t
give up my shot. From Lin-Manuel’s assured performance at the White House all
those years ago to this must have been an amazing journey. A mix of musical
forms, the Broadway tunes work best for me (tho nothing tops that first
performance all those years ago in front of the 44th president of the United
States.

Jen H. S. Gives Lin a Win

#1 Hamilton Broadway
Cast Recording (of course)

Blue Neighborhood:
Troye Sivan

1989: Ryan Adams

Paper Gods: Duran
Duran

No Place in Heaven:
Mika

Kiddo: Tove Stryke

The Desired Effect:
Brandon Flowers

Sound & Color:
Alabama Shakes

Vamala: Champs

Our Own House:
MisterWives

Hello, Danielle P

My list remains
unapologetically popular and half the songs may have been discovered from the
CW or during Teen Wolf.

Album:Adele,
25

Singles:

1)Adele, Hello

2)Drake, Hotline
Bling

3)Little Big Town,
Girl Crush

4)One Direction,
Perfect

5)Iggy Azelia, Rita
Ora,

6)Selena Gomez, Same
Old Love

7)Dierks Bentley,
Riser

8)Nikki Minaj, Pills
and Potions

9)And The World was
Gone, Snow Ghosts

10) Florence and The
Machine, Ship to Wreck

Still on Repeat from last year --

Album: Taylor Swift,
1989

Singles: Damien
RIce, Colour Me In

Ed Sheeran, I see
Fire

Ben L’s a Chelsea
Girl

Ranked my top 5; the
rest in no particular order (and truly all over the place)

1. Chelsea Wolfe,
Abyss

2. Kelela,
Hallucinogen

3. Kacey Musgraves,
Pageant Material

4. Years &
Years, Communion

5. Carly Rae Jepsen,
Emotion

Tinashe,
Amethyst

FKA Twigs, M3LL155X

Grimes, Art Angels

Purity Ring, Another
Eternity

Speedy Ortiz, Foil
Deer

Shamir, Ratchet

Shlohmo, Dark Red

The Weeknd, Beauty
Behind the Madness

Troye Sivan, Blue
Neighborhood

Jazmine Sullivan,
Reality Show

Jamie xx, In Colour

Justin Bieber,
Purpose

The Soft Moon,
Deeper

PWR BTTM, Ugly
Cherries

Leila S’s Caught
the Glitterbug

I am terrible
at knowing which year albums actually come out in. But I'm pretty sure the
Wombats' GLITTERBUG came out in 2015, in which case it was my favorite album of
the year. (Also my favorite show of the year.) The other essential albums of
the year that's immediately coming to my mind are EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES,
by Night Terrors of 1927; and GIRLS IN PEACETIME WANT TO DANCE, by Belle &
Sebastian. And my single of the year is either "Give Me a Try," by
the Wombats, or "Clearest Blue," by CHVRCHES. There were loads of other
songs and albums I loved this year, but for all I know they were from 2014 or
even some other, indeterminate year in the past.

Hello, Alicia G

Album of the year:

1. ADELE 25

(Song of the year: "Hello" - duh!)

2. Kamasi Washington
"The Epic"

3. The Weekend -
"Beauty Behind the Madness"

4. Kendrick Lamar
"To Pimp a Butterfly"

5. FKA Twigs
"M3LL155X"

The Only Thing for
Jeffrey W

In no particular
order aside from the top two:

1.
Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell

2.
Adele, 25

3.
Grimes, Art Angels

4.
Carly Rae Jepsen, E•MO•TION

5.
Sleater-Kinney, No Cities to Love

6.
Chvrches, Every Open Eye

7.
Hamilton Broadway Cast Recording

Dash G Flies Like
a Butterfly…

Looks like I sent
the list myself like an idiot. Here's my list.

1. Kendrick Lamar,
To Pimp a Butterfly

2. Kamasi
Washington, The Epic

3. Homeshake,
Midnight Snack

4. Jamie xx, In
Colour

5. Vince
Staples, Summertime '06

6. Tame Impala,
Currents

7. Drake, If You're
Reading This It's Too Late

8. Adele, 25

9. A$AP Rocky,
At. Long. Last. ASAP

10. FKA twigs,
M3LL155X

Honorary Mentions

- Tobias Jesso Jr.,
Goon

- Chvrches, Every
Open Eye

- Earl Sweatshirt, I
Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside

Bill C Carries
That Load

1. Sufjan
Stevens, Carrie & Lowell

2. Brandi
Carlile, Firewatchers Daughter

3. Adele, 25

4. Oh Wonder,
Oh Wonder

5. Justin Bieber,
Purpose

Susan V’s Grateful Playlist

I know I am too late
and most of my albums aren’t even from 2015, but I am submitting anyway!

The Grateful Dead,
American Beauty (I heard “Ripple” playing over the speakers of Blue Ribbon
Bakery while at lunch with Cece Bell in the spring and then who should be
playing in SF over the ALA weekend??? The Dead were the soundtrack to a
very exciting year for Cece, EL DEAFO, and me.)

Future Islands,
Singles (Tamar and I took a road trip to the Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal
in August, where we had the best time eating poutine and sitting in beautiful
Parc Jean Drapeau. We were totally blown away by Samuel T. Herring’s
devil-summoning voice and dance moves.)

Straight Up,
Badfinger (Got it on vinyl recently and it just makes me very happy)